Day 3 was a day of shocks and upsets in UEFA Euro 2024. England avoided a potential banana skin against Serbia thanks to Jude Bellingham’s winner, while Romania and Slovakia both caused huge upsets to blow Group E wide open.
So without further ado, let’s break down all the action from Day 3 of Euro 2024.
Match 7: Serbia 0-1 England
England’s Euro 2024 campaign got off to a winning start as Jude Bellingham’s headed effort ensured the Three Lions earned the three points. Victory over Serbia sees Gareth Southgate’s side top of Group C after Denmark and Slovenia drew in their match earlier in the day.
It was a win, however, that did not come easily. The first 45 minutes saw Bellingham and Bukayo Saka dominate the Serbian defence as they struggled to cope with the young duo. Serbia barely had a sniff, though England also didn’t do much with their lion’s share of possession.
With England failing to break them down, Serbia slowly started to grow into the game. The second period proved more nervous for the former as they sank deeper into their own half and the latter became more aggressive with the ball. While almost all of Dragan Stojkovic’s half-time changes and substitutions worked, Southgate got every single one of his wrong. The English manager conceded momentum when all his side needed to do was gain control of the game again.
In the end, Jordan Pickford stood strong to keep Serbia at bay as Southgate’s men got the job done. However, against any higher-ranked side, these naïve mistakes won’t go unpunished.
Match 8: Romania 3-0 Ukraine
Romania turned in a masterclass in counter-attacking football to win their first European Championship match in 24 years with an emphatic 3-0 victory over Ukraine in their Euro 2024 Group E opener.
Stunning long-range strikes in each half from captain and man of the match Nicolae Stanciu and midfielder Razvan Marin shocked Serhiy Rebrov’s Ukraine, who dominated the opening 20 minutes of the match without any real penetration.
Looking back at the game, all three goals could have been avoided. Stanciu’s opener resulted from an indecisive loose pass from Mykalo Matviyenko to Andriy Lunin, which the 25-year-old passed straight to Stanciu, while the second goal was all on Lunin, who dove over Marin’s saveable long-range effort.
The result was all but confirmed shortly before the hour mark when winger Dennis Man drove into the box from a short corner and put the ball across goal for Denis Dragus to tap in.
Romania’s tight-knit defence denied Ukraine any real sniff at goal as the Tricolorii secured their second-ever win across 17 matches at the Euros, the first being a 3-2 victory over England in Euro 2000.
Also Watch: Will Germany win Euro 2024? Breaking down Germany’s opener v Scotland
Match 9: Belgium 0-1 Slovakia
Two Romelu Lukaku disallowed goals, a plethora of missed opportunities, and some resolute defending gave way to the biggest Euros upset since FIFA rankings were introduced in 1992.
Slovakia took the lead within seven minutes when forward Ivan Schranz scored from a poor clearance by the Belgium defence. Slovakia then survived a string of misses by Belgium’s record goal-scorer Romelu Lukaku, who also had two second-half goals disallowed.
Credit also needs to be given to Slovakian fullback Dávid Hancko, whose brave goal-line clearance left him sprawled in the goal net with a face injury inflicted by a teammate’s knee. In the end, Slovakia held on to register one of the biggest upsets in UEFA Euro history. This is also Belgium’s first defeat under head coach Domenico Tadesco in 15 games.
Their game against Romania now becomes a must-win for Tedesco’s team, while a draw or win against Ukraine in their next game will all but confirm Slovakia’s passage into the knockouts.
How the points table looks:
| Group C | Group E | ||||||
| Teams | Played | GD | Points | Teams | Played | GD | Points |
| England | 1 | +1 | 3 | Romania | 1 | +3 | 3 |
| Denmark | 1 | 0 | 1 | Slovakia | 1 | +1 | 3 |
| Slovenia | 1 | 0 | 1 | Belgium | 1 | -1 | 0 |
| Serbia | 1 | -1 | 0 | Ukraine | 1 | -3 | 0 |
Also read: UEFA Euro 2024 Sponsors
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